Good night runDisney night races…runDisney just announced significant changes to the long-standing nighttime Wine & Dine Half Marathon. If you want to “run now, wine later” you’re gonna have to toe the start line a whole lot earlier in 2016 – like 16+ hours earlier.

The race weekend now begins on Thursday 3 November 2016 with the start of the event expo. The Jingle Jungle 5K has been renamed Mickey’s Holiday 5K and moved to Friday morning. Also new for 2016 is the addition of the Disney Wine & Dine 10K on Saturday and the move to Sunday morning for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon – with an exclusive after hours Post Race Party at the Epcot® International Food & Wine Festival Sunday evening. runDisney Kid’s Races will be available on both Friday and Saturday.

The addition of a 10K opens up the weekend to a field of runners not previously on the Wine & Dine weekend schedule. Those who love to #RunAllTheRaces will be happy to see that the 10K also means a new challenge! Lumiere’s Two Course Challenge will include the 10K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday – and an extra challenge medal.

It’s interesting to note that the advent of all the changes to nighttime entertainment [“Rivers of Light” at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the “Frozen Ever After” experience at the Norway pavilion at Epcot] and construction in many of the Walt Disney World theme parks seems to be the catalyst for the removal of night races from the upcoming runDisney schedule. For those that loved the unique experience of running through the parks after dark, we can only hope that once construction is complete, runDisney will consider adding night races back into their schedule.

General registration for all 2016 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend races opens up 29 March 2016 at noon ET.

As with any new runDisney race, the gang at RunAllTheRaces will be there to check out all the changes. Will we see you there?

**************************************************************How do you feel about the changes to the 2016 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend?

Our little buddy @TinyTikiRunner had recovered from the Great Tinker Bell 5K Hamper, Umbrella, and Mop Incident of 2015 and came forward with a Disneyland 5K costume request of her own – Inside Out. Pretty excited that not only was Tiny Tiki still speaking to us, but that she might (just might) be getting into #RunningInAllTheCostumes, we agreed (even if we hadn’t actually seen the movie….).

Good news was that Tiny Tiki had invited a childhood friend to run with us (Hey – glad you’re coming with us for your first runDisney weekend. By the way – you’re gonna need to run the 5K as Riley and wear a hockey jersey and helmet and carry a hockey stick. Hello? Hello? You’re still coming, right?!?! Why is she not responding to our emails?..).

Bad news was that we still needed to con at least 2 more people into dressing up like crazy people and “running” with us if we wanted all the emotions.

Nicole and Katy Buompensiero as Merida and Queen Elinor

We immediately thought of Nicole and Katy Buompensiero – the mother/daughter team whose runDisney costumes we’d loved (and coveted) over several years. It was like reaching out to your idols and hoping (against hope) that they would not only want to hang out with you, but would invest their time and money to help you realize an idea. We cannot tell you how excited we were when Nicole and Katy responded that not only where they in – they were IN!

Inside Out: Fear Costume In-Progress

Inside Out: Anger Head In-Process

We knew we were going to have to “bring it” as we anticipated lots of Inside Out costumes since it was Pixar’s most recent release.

Inside Out: Disgust Dress In-Process

Over the course of the next several months, we held a few costuming conference calls and posted progress on a closed Facebook Group to ensure that the final product would look cohesive when we all got to the race – as everyone was responsible for their own costume creation. Thank goodness for technology when your group is located in Connecticut, Florida, Arizona, and California.

Race day arrived and Tiny Tiki, her childhood friend, Kimberly and I got ready in our hotel room. 3:30am came early, as we had a bit of body painting to complete before heading out to our corrals. There was A LOT of laughter as we all got dressed. You know you love your running friends when you’re willing to paint their armpits green pre-dawn, in your hotel bathroom…

Sadness #Selfie

And how committed was Tiny Tiki to her idea?

As Sadness, she wore slippers for the ENTIRE race (and still managed to be faster than the rest of us)! Slippers, people – for a 5K. Pretty sure this means she’s hooked (even if she swears she’ll only dress up for 5Ks. We will see, we will see…).

We met up with Nicole and Katy in the courtyard of the Disneyland Hotel were Nicole handed out her hand-made core memory balls. They lit up and really just added that extra-special something to our costumes. As we walked to the corrals, we just couldn’t stop giggling at each other. These costumes were just SO MUCH FUN!

One of the things we love about running runDisney 5K races is that, in many cases, families come out and run together. We had so much fun taking photos with the kids – who really seemed to love our costumes. And we were lucky enough to keep running into a family whose kids were dressed up as Disgust and Anger. They were SO adorable and kept stopping to take photos with us and give us hugs. So much fun!

Inside Out: Mile Marker 2 (Note the time…)

We took #AllThePhotos (both character stops and with fellow runners) and quickly ended up near the back of the pack. One of my favorite memories is all of us walking together (with NO ONE behind us), coming up to the first water stop and having the volunteers go absolutely nuts when they saw us. They cheered “Inside Out, Inside Out” in unison and took selfies with us as we went by.

As we stopped for an EPIC Big Thunder Railroad photo op, our friend Cindy Rodriguez-Copey, who had been running near us almost the entire race (and was gracious enough to take some mid-race photos for us) lamented that she hadn’t seen Nicole or Katy the entire race – which was odd – as they run ALL the runDisney races. We started to laugh and explained that she’d been running with them almost the entire race – as Nicole was Joy and Katy was Fear. She hadn’t recognized them in costume. That’s when you know you’ve done good 😉

There are a number of these Disneyland 60th Anniversary photo ops throughout Disneyland…and they are hilarious!

HAD to be done!

As we approached the end of the race and the chute to the finish at Downtown Disney we realized we were bringing up the rear of the race. But it was totally worth it. We hadn’t had this much fun at a run in ages! More photos, more fun. Seeing everyone smile and want to take a photo with us as we ran by made all the hard work (and pre-dawn armpit paining) worth it.

All this fun and all the photo stops meant that it took us 2-hours to complete the 2015 Disneyland 5K.

Yes. You read that correctly. It took us 2-hoursto complete 3.1 miles – that’s about a 39 minute mile.

And I don’t regret one single second of it! #Winning

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A BIG shout out to some of our runDisney friends who “ran” into us on the Disneyland 5K course. Check out their race reports here:

Brandi Gilbert (who ran with her mom – they are just the cutest): Funner Runner

Patty Holliday (who psychically dressed up as Bing-Bong and waited (a LONG while) for us at the finish for another epic photo op : My No Guilt Life

BIG thanks to Patty Holliday (My No Guilt Life) for waiting so we could get a photo with Bing-Bong.

**************************************************************Would you “go slow” for a good time?

THANK goodness it cooled down for the start of the race…118 degrees would have just been nuts 😉

Living in Arizona in the summer is akin to living on the surface of sun. Temperatures routinely hit over 100 degrees for months at a time.

That makes summer running (which also happens to be the start of a lot marathon training schedules) a b*%#! And it also means it is really hard to find any local races and, if you do, they are mostly of the 5K duration and start pre-dawn.

Vertigo Night Trail Run Start/Finish Village

Thank goodness that the Arizona summer months bring several full moons and the Aravaipa Running Insomniac Night Trail Run Series. This is a series of 7 night trail runs in the greater Phoenix area from May to November (and, trust me, it’s still plenty hot in November in Phoenix).

With welcoming names like Sinister, Thrasher, and Punisher this series is an awesome addition to the local summer running calendar.

Last night I ran the Vertigo 31K, my second Insomniac Series race this year.

This trail featured steep inclines, swooping turns, technical descents, and rugged terrain – made all the more challenging by a huge thunderstorm and lots of running water the night before the race. So much running water, the road leading up to the park was closed the night before the race due to flooding!

The start of the race was staggered based on distance with the 52K starting a 7:00pm, followed by the 31K at 7:30pm and the 10K at 8:00pm.

Runners, even trail runners, are only so crazy so the combination of the distances, technical nature of the course, and the fact that it had “cooled down” to a mild 113 degrees by 7:00pm kept the race numbers manageable. This was great, as runners for all distances shared the same 6.5 mile trail loop. It was just enough runners that you didn’t feel like you were out in the middle of nowhere by yourself in the dark – every 10 – 15 minutes you would run by someone/have someone run by you. Add in a great start/finish line village and a remote aid station at mile 4.5 on the loop and it was just peaceful enough to allow you to enjoy the quiet and the stars.

Hot weather tempered my desire to blaze the trails with speed. It was 113 degrees at the start at 7:00pm and still 95 degrees when I finished around 1:00am. Still better than running during the day in full sun (and even hotter temperatures), but not cool by any stretch of the imagination!

See that spike in elevation each mile…ouch!

I took it easy on the first 2 laps, which included a decent stop at the end of the second lap to really rehydrate, take my shoes off for a few minutes to help cool me down (and allow for some blister TLC), and drink something other than G2 and water (HELLO Diet Coke! Where have you been these last 13 miles…).

Me just prior to the start of the race.

There was lots of climbing, lots of loose rocks, and some downhill sections that were more nerve-wracking than the 1-mile up hill switchback section that did NOT get more fun on each loop. The recent rains added some additional rocks and deep sand, but did help with controlling dust.

My last lap ended up being my fastest – I’m chalking this up on the fact that it had “cooled down” a bit, I just wanted to be done, and this was the lap where I saw a RATTLESNAKE on the trail. The turbo boosters kicked in and I just wanted to be away from poisonous things that could bite me!

[NOTE: In the moment I never thought the snake was going to bite me – or any of the other runners in the area. Said snake was just slowly slithering across a wide stretch of the trail, minding his own business. A runner ahead of me clearly saw the snake in plenty of time to avoid it and notify those around. That being said, I spent the final 4 miles of the race on EXTREMELY HIGH SNAKE ALERT (as opposed to my normal High Snake Alert status). A snakebite is just something I would like to avoid – especially one that happens at night, on the side of a mountain.]

Vertigo Night Trail Run by the Numbers:

Race distance: 31k

Trail Loops: 3

Total time: 5:13 (Female winner = 2:45 – insane!)

Sunset: 1

Full moon: 1

Fuel belt bottles of G2: 6

Fuel belt bottles of water: 5

Slices of fresh watermelon: 5

Bean burritos: 1 (on last lap, 2 miles from end of race – I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid…)

My souvenir from the race. Nothing like (literally) “hitting the trails”…

Potty stops: 2 prior to start of race (nerves)/2 during race (surprisingly, none as a result of the bean burrito…)

Falls: 1

Resulting in exactly 1 souvenir black and blue knee

Rattlesnakes: 1

Followed by exactly 1 freak out

Tree roots I thought were rattlesnakes and freaked out for no reason = Too many to count

Scorpions: 1

Toads: 1

Blisters: 4

At the finish, each runner received a race beer glass. The beer garden at the finish benefited Team RWB, which is awesome. Beer for a good cause is a good thing! I still had an hour drive back home and was REALLY hot, so I partook of some excellent ice water in my finisher’s beer glass – it was seriously good – trust me…

The SWAG! The gear bag was received with our bibs in place of a race shirt and the beer glass you earned at the finish line.

2015 Insomniac Night Trail Race Series

I’ll be back out on the trails at the end of this month for another full moon and some more miles.

*Disclaimer: I was invited by Rocket Pure to test and review several of their products. I received a Friction Therapy Anti-Chafe Balm Stick and Natural Cedarwood Revive Foot and Shoe Deodorizing Powder. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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I live in Arizona. This race started at 5:05 am. It was already 85 degrees out. This is the face of a happy Rocket Pure user and a runner WITHOUT monkey butt!

I do NOT have thigh separation.

I have NEVER had thigh separation in my ENTIRE life.

In fact, I come from a long line of strong, beautiful, athletic women who have never/will never see sunlight through the top of their legs.

What does that mean? In short, I’ll never be a supermodel (but at 5’3″ I was resigned to that a long time ago…) and I will ALWAYS need to lube up before a long run.

That being said, not all anti-chafe products are created equal.

For years, I utilized Body Glide – in part, because it was the ONLY product my local running stores carried. Body Glide is a good product. It almost always provided the anti-chafing support I needed.

Granted if you sweat enough and/or make enough potty stops during your long run and don’t reapply – well, there’s only so much a product can do for you if you don’t hold up your end of the bargain (i.e. reapply after you sweat/wipe all the product away…).

Cedarwood Foot Powder

Delightfully Dopey Kimberly was asked by Rocket Pure to review their products and she brought me along for the ride. I was really excited until she exclaimed she thought of me “because you ALWAYS get monkey butt and, I HATE to tell you this (but it’s nothing you don’t already know) but your feet STINK.”

Yeah – love you too…but she ain’t wrong 😉 On top of the thigh-rubbing gene, I’m the recipient of a stinky foot gene. Woo-hoo – lucky me!

Rocket Pure Friction Therapy Anti-Chafe Balm Stick

What I like about Rocket Pure

Rocket Pure products are minimally processed with no artificial ingredients and they never use harsh or suspect chemicals such as parabens, sulphates, synthetic fragrances, dyes or genetically modified ingredients. I’m not an allergic person, so this just makes my tree-hugging side happy.

They smellAMAZING. It doesn’t really sound that amazing at first, but the Friction Therapy Anti-Chafe Balm Stick has Tea Tree Oil. So what? HOURS after application, your lubed parts still smell like a spa. If you’ve ever run a marathon, you KNOW how amazing (and unusual) that really is. Seriously, my butt was the BEST smelling part of me after my last marathon. When was the last time you could say that?!?!

They WORK! After trying the Friction Therapy Anti-Chafe Balm Stick during 2 marathons and 1 ultra I can say I did not have ANY trace of Monkey Butt. [What is Monkey Butt you ask? The resulting red rash that comes from your sweaty butt cheeks rubbing together. It is NO BUENO!). Additionally, adding the Natural Cedarwood Revive Foot and Shoe Deodorizing Powder to my running shoes before and after a run makes EVERYONE around me MUCH happier – especially if it’s a long race weekend and we’re all trapped in a hotel room with my used shoes…

Rocket Pure Guarantee: 100% Satisfaction, or 100% Refund.

What I would like to see from Rocket Pure

I would love a small, race belt sized version of the Friction Therapy Anti-Chafe Balm Stick that I could carry during races. Body Glide offers this and it’s great when you know you are going to run really far and/or have a race during extremely high heat, bad weather, etc. where re-application is going to be required.

Availability in my local Arizona running stores. I’m happy to order online, but I’m not always that proactive – and being able to pick the product up locally helps when I space out and realize I’m out of product the night before a race…

Don’t just take MY word for it… Check out Kimberly’s review of Rocket Pure here.

Do you suffer from Monkey Butt or Funky Feet? Give Rocket Pure a try with 10% Off your order.

As we look forward to all that is planned for the Disneyland 60th Anniversary celebration, the plans of the 35th Anniversary seems somewhat subdued (you can only get SO excited about a Geo…it’s still a Geo after all).

The centerpieces of the celebration were the new Party Gras Parade, Dick Tracy’s Diamond Double Cross stage show, and 35th Anniversary commemorative park tickets – which resulted in selected guests winning special gifts. Additionally, Disneyland unveiled the Disneyland Mouserail. Monorail red, which spent 19 years traveling around Disneyland, was transformed into a street-legal anniversary party on the road – complete with a “35 EARS” license plate.

In what I consider a genius marketing move, Disneyland released a 35th anniversary special that highlights not only the theme park – but it’s expanding media empire.

The special opens with the cast of Cheers sitting around the bar when Woody walks in and asks to turn the television to the Disneyland special (directed by John Landis!). As Woody says, “Everyone loves Disney!”

Check out those ticket prices!

Highlights and guest appearances include:

The cast of Cheers

The Haunted Mansion attraction

Footage of the opening day of Disneyland and the 35th Anniversary re-dedication with Ronald Reagan

The new Party Gras parade

Footage of the original construction of the theme park

Famous visitors to the theme park over the last 35 years

Michael Eisner talking to the very first Disneyland guests – 35 years later

Tony Danza on the Jungle Cruise attraction

C3-PO and R2-D2, Tony Danza, the Three Little Pigs, Gonzo, and Miss Piggy on the Star Tours attraction

Miss Piggy and Cinderella with Gonzo as “Your Fairy God-thing”

Jim Varney as Ernest

DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince singing a hip-hop version of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”

Disneyland 1990 Chronology:

January 11: For the 35th anniversary of Disneyland, the Party Gras Parade debuts, with balloons 45 feet high of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy

January 12: Michael Eisner announces Disney’s most ambitious expansion of Disneyland over the next ten years, to expand park capacity by 20 percent

February 4: The special TV show Disneyland’s 35th Anniversary Celebration airs, starring Tony Danza and the Muppets

April 6: The Blue Ribbon Bakery shop opens on Main Street at Disneyland, in place of the Sunkist Citrus House

Our guest blogger is Jessica AKA #TinyTiki. You can follow her on Twitter @TinyTikiRunner

“You’ll be fine…it’s only 3 miles…”

Now that is a sentence I never thought I would say, but let me back up just a bit.

Getting suited up…

The fabulous ladies of Run All The Races are primarily known for two things – their contagious enthusiasm for running and their insanely creative, elaborate costumes at all of the runDisney races. Kimberly and Gail love to make everyone laugh – runners, announcers, spectators, and cast members. Many are amazed at both the intricacy of their costumes and their ability to run in them.

At the 2015 Tinker Bell 5K

I have now run in costume with them twice – as a tiki in runDisney’s Castaway Cay Challenge 5K after Princess Half Marathon Weekend 2015 and as Boo from Monster’s Inc. in the Neverland 5K during Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend 2015. Kimberly and Gail kindly provided everything I needed – all I had to do was run and pose for pictures, which was actually easier said than done. The tiki hat kept wanting to fly off my head and the metal underneath the purple umbrella was an incessant source of pain digging into my scalp. I ran one race holding down my headpiece, the other trying to keep it from touching my head. Thankfully, the purple hamper was quite comfortable. Kimberly and Gail’s tolerance for pain is clearly stronger than mine, as I could not imagine running longer distances in costume. Their love of crafty costumes along with their natural ability to run (both of them are marathoners!) keep them going.

2015 Castaway Cay Challenge 5K

As their roommate during recent runDisney race weekends at Disneyland, I see what no one else sees – all of their hard work behind the scenes. Our room is usually an explosion of glitter, foam, safety pins, electric tape, glitter, wigs, New Balance sneakers, hot glue guns, a sewing machine, a variety of miscellaneous items, and yes, more glitter (Kimberly’s favorite color). One would think they are a collective Mary Poppins – I have never seen so many accessories come out of a suitcase. The nights before races, they stay up late sewing, gluing, pinning, and taping to make sure their costumes are not only ready, but practically perfect and up to their standards. Since they reside on opposite coasts, race weekends are their only chances to put their costumes together as a team. And how about what happens beforehand? Months ahead of time, texts about costume ideas fly back and forth. Orders are placed and packages are shipped to the hotel. Airplane carry-on items are sewing machines and gigantic flowers. Multiple suitcases are filled to the brim with costume pieces.

2015 Star Wars 10K

Running in costume may look glamorous and easy, but it involves a great deal of time and effort (and occasionally pain). Would I run in costume with them again? Absolutely, since I adore their endearing craziness, though only for a 5K. I prefer to run the longer distances for time but I can handle some pain for 3.1 miles for the sake of having a blast with my running sisters, especially after all of their hard work in putting together not only their own costumes but mine as well. Running with them is nothing short of an unforgettable, unique experience.

Do you run in costume? Do you think you could Run All The Races in costume with Perfectly Goofy Gail & Kimberly?

Run All The Races is proud to announce our partnership with Run & Ride Race Series. We hope to help you Run & Ride all the races and will provide our readers with race discounts, travel & training tips, but more importantly show you how to enjoy a race-cation that includes the entire family without breaking the bank.

In 2014, we ran the Cedar Point races and instantly fell in love with this race series because it combines our love of roller coasters, racing and family fun all at an affordable price!

At Cedar Point, we ran the 5K on Saturday morning with Kimberly’s children. Then we enjoyed the thrills of Cedar Point’s legendary roller coasters. On Sunday, we ran the Half Marathon while Perfectly Goofy Gail’s parents, Kay and Mike, volunteered on the course at a water stop. We then went back into the parks to ride the family and thrill rides, but more importantly…the roller coasters. Click here for our 2014 race recap.

Run & Ride Races is gearing up for the start of their race season with their first event at Valleyfair, Minnesota on Saturday, May 16th & 17th. Valleyfair will offer The Valleyfair 5K and Snoopy’s One-Mile Fun Run on Saturday at 8:30am. On Sunday at 6:45am they will host the Route 76 10K and Valleyfair Half Marathon. Valleyfair is located in Shakopee, Minnesota and is the largest amusement park in the Upper Midwest offering thrill rides, family rides, a waterpark and entertainment! Hurry early registration closes on Saturday, April 4th – registration fees will increase. Click here to register today!

We are proud to announce Run all the Races followers will receive discounts off Run & Ride Races:

Use RUNALLTHERACES10 to receive $10-off the half-marathon

Use RUNALLTHERACES5 to receive $5-offthe 10K or 5K

Run & Ride Races are an EXCELLENT VALUE! Included in your 2015 Run & Ride Half Marathon registration:

Scenic running route through the amusement park

Finisher medal

Admission to the park – this varies by park so check the offer, but it’s an OUTSTANDING DEAL!

BibChip timing and instant online results

Commemorative long-sleeve tech T-shirt

Free parking the morning of the race

Great prizes and awards for top 3 finishes in each category

Friends and family park entry discounts

Post race food

The first 150 sign-ups receive a special Run & Ride “in training” t-shirt

Stop running and take a photo? Sure (we’re up for ANY reason to take a break)!
Alison Jakeman Nicklas, Perfect Goofy Gail, the Heartbreak Hill Running Company Gorilla (he was out BOTH days cheering us on), Kimberly, and Pamela Potter Frost.